The Apartment
by Marion Kay
Summary: It all began with the apartment.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the rights to Inuyasha.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me! Last week she was 'the most horrendously self-centered, snobbish, pain-in-the-ass whose soul purpose was to torment the downtrodden' — your exact words." Kagome laughed, dodging the pillow her best friend and roommate tossed her way.

"I didn't know her then, ok Kags? I was wrong. She's…," he paused and sighed, "perfect." A look of bliss and serenity easing onto Inuyasha's features.

"Let me guess, she's got a heart of gold, a mind full of wisdom, and a body for sin!" Kagome retorted, tossing the previously dodged pillow back at Inuyasha. Her aim was true and the pillow smacked his shoulder with a satisfying _thwump_.

He smiled a toothy grin at her. "Yeah, yeah she does."

It was Kagome's turn to sigh and she rolled her eyes. "Ok, ok. So you've found your dream woman. Now that that quest has been completed, how about we decide what movie to watch, hm? It is tradition after all!"

Inuyasha smiled a big toothy. "Deal!" He rummaged through their extensive movie collection before settling on a satisfyingly action-packed flick. Arranging the previously tossed pillow behind him, he stretched out — his feet on the coffee table. Following suit, Kagome curled up in her usual spot on the other side of the couch, her legs tucked beside her, one arm on the armrest supporting her head and the other reaching over to grab some popcorn from the bowl on the middle cushion.

Thursday night movies had been a tradition between the two since the day they met over three years before. They were both freshmen at the university then and, like all freshmen, they both desperately wanted to make friends. It was actually a Thursday when they met - the first film club meeting of the year.

. . .

Kagome had felt a spark the moment her eyes met his. He was different not just in the way he looked, light brown eyes with shockingly white hair, but also in his energy and the way he moved. He was like a firework — an enigma of shimmering light with explosive potential. She was instantly fascinated by him and a blush rose to her face as she realized she'd been staring.

Slowly, he made his way through the crowded room, his eyes darting around to take in every detail, all the while moving towards her. He stopped directly in front of her, placing a hand on the desk she was leaning against, closer than most people would stand to someone they had never met. She could almost feel his life pulsing off of him in waves. She'd always been more acutely aware of the energies people threw off than most and she had never met anyone who felt quite the way he did.

"Hey! Name's Inuyasha, yours?" He had smiled at her then, a big toothy grin. It was a smile that required a responding smile from whomever he flashed with it. Smiling back, she stuck her hand out. "Kagome." He took her outstretched hand, her eyebrow quirking as she felt the spark running through their touch. "It's nice to meet you, Inuyasha."

That was what started it all. They quickly became almost inseparable: they sat together in the classes they shared, ate their meals together, went to every Thursday film club meeting together, studied together, and they even slept over at one another's dorm rooms sometimes after a late night of studying. Any one looking and observing the two would have thought they were dating but, much to her dismay at the time, they weren't.

They had only ever shared one kiss. The friends went out on the town after they finished their last exam before the holiday break — drinking, dancing, and laughing all night until the bars shooed them home. They staggered back, arm-in-arm, each helping support the other. They were stumbling across field surrounded by the dorms when Inuyasha stopped them. He grabbed Kagome's arms and twirled her around to face him. Her head was rushing and his unkempt hair sparked like whips of silver under the moonlight. Pulling her closer to him he began, "Kags, I —" But she didn't let him finish. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she pulled his mouth to hers, her heart leaping that this would be her first kiss. She was drunk, sure. But this kiss wasn't a whim. She had wanted to kiss him for months that felt like years. The alcohol just gave her the courage. His fiery energy burning through her body at the sensation of his lips on hers.

Suddenly, he was pushing her away, causing her to stumble backwards and, as the ground rushed up to meet her, she heard him say, "Come _on_ Kagome, not like that! That's weird, you're my best friend — practically like a sister. Gods!" And just as quickly as her heart had leapt, it came crashing down, tears blurring her vision of him walking away.

She stayed in that spot on the cold winter ground crying until a girl who lived on her hall saw her. The trip to her room was a blur, the other girl's words fading in and out: "Oh gods! Are you ok? What happened? Come on, let's get you off the ground. You just need a good night's rest, that's all — it'll all look better in the morning, you'll see!" Kagome only nodded her head, it was going to take a lot longer than one night to make everything better.

The next morning, Kagome woke to the sound of her phone's persistent buzzing. A splitting headache and a wave of nausea pulsed through her. Grabbing the phone, she peeked an eye at it: _Inuyasha Cell_. She groaned and let the call go to voicemail. _There is no way I'm talking to him now. Not after last night…_ She mentally berated herself and as the phone went to voicemail she saw that she had not one, not two, but twelve missed calls from her "friend" and eight different voicemails. _He must've been calling for hours._ Hesitantly, she clicked on the first voicemail: "Kagome, look we need to talk. Call me back." _Delete._ Next: "Kagome, you there? We have a lot to talk so just call me soon." _Delete_. She continued in a similar fashion, listening to his voicemails as they ranged from frustration to concern and, as a new voicemail popped up, pleading. "Hey Kags? It's me, though you know that already. Ok, I'm really sorry about last night and … and well I was a jerk to you. And if you never want to talk to me again after today, I understand that but, please, just at least give me today to talk to you. Please call me back."

She sighed as her finger hit "Call Back." He answered halfway through the first ring. "Hello? Hello, Kagome?" His voice was panicked and strained. She winced away from the phone — he was so loud inside her very hungover head — and let out a raspy "Yeah?" There was a pause and then his voice started up again. "Thank the gods you're ok. I was such an ass to you. I mean…I pushed you and then I just left you there, and I swear it's like it wasn't even me. But I know it was. Look, the thing is…well, the thing is I'm actually outside your door right now and I was wondering if you'd let me in so we could talk?"

This time, _she_ paused. Her mouth was sickly sweet and her head felt like a herd of elephants was rolling around in it. Glancing to the side, she caught sight of herself in the mirror - her hair would rival Medusa's, her unwashed makeup was smudged, and her eyes were still red and puffy from the previous night's tears.

"I brought your favorite tea and breakfast," he offered, his voice coming through both the phone and the door.

"Fine," she grumbled back at him.

Her feet hit the ground and she shrugged a sweatshirt on. She barely unlocked the door before he rushed in, depositing his peace offerings on the coffee table in the center of the room. Before she could speak he was holding her, embracing her as if she would disappear if he let go. She felt him shudder and realized he was crying. _Shouldn't I be the one crying? I'm the one who was mercilessly shoved away last night, remember?_ Her mind asked cynically. She didn't push him away, though. Instead, she stood there and held him, her hands lightly rubbing his back, her voice instinctively making little shushing sounds.

He mumbled into her hair, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. Please, please don't kick me out of your life. Kags, please. I've never had a friend like you — you're the only person who has ever stuck by me through anything. I don't know what I would do if I lost you, please."

In that moment, she decided that she would never tell him how badly his rejection had hurt. She decided that she would do what she had never done before: she would lie to him.

"Hey, hey! What's with the tears?"

He pulled away from her, his face confused and startled. "What?"

"I said, what's with the tears? I'm telling you, I was so drunk last night that I hardly remember a thing!" A memory flashed: his silver hair flying across the night sky. "I remember leaving the last bar, and then you must have walked me home." Another memory: his strong hands grabbing her, whirling her around to face him, so close. "Because the next thing I knew, I was waking up here to a thousand calls and funky voicemails from you." She bit back the sting of tears as the last memory shook through her: her lips on his, being shoved away, the horrified look on his face as he turned and left her. "How long were you outside my room anyways?"

He stood there for a moment staring at her and she silently prayed that she was a convincing liar. Watching his face shift, she decided she was. His face changed, eyes registering that, as far as he knew, she didn't know what happened, didn't remember the kiss, didn't remember him leaving her there crying to the cold night's wind. She watched the gears work in his head and waited for his next words.

"Oh, well, I guess I must've had a dream terrible dream! Yeah…I left you at your dorm so you could sleep and then stumbled back to my place."

Even if Kagome hadn't remembered the previous night, his face would have given him away. He, unlike her, was a terrible liar. _I guess we're even now. I lied to him and him to me. The next thing to do is move past last night, however long it takes_. She smiled at him and clapped her hands together. "So are you going to just stand there or show me the delicious hangover food you got me, because I could definitely use it!"

. . .

Reaching over into the popcorn bowl, her fingers brushed his. No spark, no tremor of romantic connection or possibility, just his usual frantic vibes running over her skin that was closest to his. She placed the treat in her mouth thoughtfully, thinking about when she had last felt a flare between the two of them. _Let's see, sophomore year we moved in to the same apartment — I definitely still felt it then. That was a tough year, especially with him walking around shirtless all the time. I guess it was some time last year that it started to fade, and now it's gone altogether._ She thought about how Inuyasha had almost constantly urged her to go on dates, always claiming that one day he'd find a guy who was just right for her. She had introduced one guy to Inuyasha — but her roommate had definitely not approved. They almost had to call an ambulance for Kouga, the poor guy. "I was just protecting your honor from a fleabag like him." Was her friend's response when she inquired what the hell was wrong with him. Sometimes he still tried to take her out, but he always looked around to make sure Inuyasha wasn't there to beat him to a pulp again. It wasn't such a loss — she really didn't feel any sort of connection with Kouga and his eyes were always a little too wild for her.

The movie drew to a close with lots of explosions and a few cheesy lines. As the credits rolled, she turned to her roommate. "So, if you're so taken with Kikyou, when do I get to meet her? You got to meet the one guy I tried to date and almost hospitalized him. We're hardly friends if I can't provide the same service for you." She blinked her eyes innocently at him.

He tossed the battle-pillow he'd been resting on at her, making her giggle as it whizzed by her head. She knew if he ever actually wanted it to hit her, he could. He rolled his eyes at her. "Fine, fine. I'm going out with her this weekend, so how about some time next week?"

"Hmm, next week." She tapped her finger on her chin, pretending to remember if she was free or not — she was, she was always free. "Yup! Next week works for me!"

The friends smiled at each other. Inuyasha stretching before getting up from the couch. Kagome turned to watch him saunter through the kitchen and rummage around. Even though she didn't have romantic feelings for him anymore, it still stung just a bit that he had found someone else so supposedly perfect for him without her ever knowing about it.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the rights to Inuyasha.

* * *

Kagome glanced back over the spotless apartment. She had spent the last few days cleaning up the place in the evenings after classes. It wasn't that the place needed a lot of work — she really did a good job of keeping things organized and tidy — but if she was about to have a guest in her and Inuyasha's apartment she was going to make sure it was immaculate.

Whirring through the apartment, she lit candles, gave pillows an extra fluffing, straightened picture frames, and made her way to the kitchen. She cracked the over door, peeked in at the casserole, and breathed in the heady and comforting aroma. Earlier that week, Inuyasha had told her that he would bring Kikyou over on Thursday and they could all hang around the apartment and eat dinner together. Ever the hostess, Kagome had insisted on cooking for the occasion and had showered her roommate with a barrage of questions about what his love-interest would and would not eat. He had insisted that her lasagna would be a crowd pleaser. Nodding at the bubbling dish, she closed the oven door.

Half an hour later, Kagome heard muffled voices and Inuyasha's keys outside the apartment door. She heard the door swing open, Inuyasha's voice filling the apartment.

"I'm in the kitchen! Make yourselves comfortable," Kagome called from her task.

"It smells great, Kags! We'll be in there soon," her roommate shouted back.

She was pulling down plates when she heard the couple behind her. Turning around, she froze at the sight of the young woman in front of her.

"Kags, I'd like you to meet Kikyou. Kikyou, Kagome." He stood between the two women as their eyes locked. Kagome almost gasped.

Kikyou was so similar to her in some ways and so very different in others. Both had long raven hair and dark eyes; and their complexions were nearly identical. Upon closer inspection, however, the differences were shocking. Kikyou's eyes were almost onyx - the pupils and iris practically indistinguishable — while Kagome's were a swirling brown. Kikyou's hair was sleek, hanging about her like sheets of silk and Kagome's a voluminous mass ever shifting and never tamed. The biggest surprise was the similarity and stark differences in how they were assembled. At first glance, one might think they were sisters - their appearances seeming to mirror one another. But if one looked closer they could see that where Kagome was all curves and soft - an homage to femininity, Kikyou was all angles and flat planes - her sharpness giving her a regality and air of unapproachability.

A tense smile forced its way onto Kikyou's face.

"It's...it's so nice to meet you," Kagome managed to stutter, sticking out her hand.

Kikyou's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the outstretched hand. Gingerly, Kikyou stuck hers out as well, barely making contact before pulling her hand away. Kikyou's touch sent a shock through Kagome as though she had suddenly been emerged in ice water. Small warning bells sounded in her head, urging her to suggest that Inuyasha find another woman to fall for. Something about Kikyou was off, and it concerned Kagome. But one look at Inuyasha, grinning ear to ear, was all it took for Kagome to push her sense of unease away. He looked truly happy and she didn't want to ruin it based on a slight feeling. Inuyasha placed his hand on Kikyou's back. "Come on," he said, "let me show you the apartment!"

"I would love to see it, dear." Her voice was like honey dripping over a crystal dagger — sweet and beautiful, but dangerous.

Kagome stood there watching the couple travel across the apartment as the other woman wiped her hand off on her dress after touching Kagome. Kagome shook her head. _I must be imagining things. I'm sure she's really sweet. I'm probably just being overly protective of him. _ Turning her attention back to dinner, she carefully pulled the dish from the oven to let it cool.

Kagome called out to the couple, looking over the bar top that separated the kitchen from the living room. "Do you two want anything to drink? We have a bottle of red wine if you'd like some."

"Would you like some?" Inuyasha's eyes were glued to Kikyou. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

Kagome did her best to smile at them before grabbing the bottle of red wine she'd bought to go with dinner.

She emerged from the kitchen moments later, bringing the couple their wine.

"This one should go really well with dinner. I'm no wine connoisseur, so I double checked with the man at the store." Kagome looked at her wine proudly. She really wanted to create a comfortable evening for Inuyasha and Kikyou.

The other woman looked up from her glass. "Dinner?"

Kagome looked at her and then at Inuyasha. "You told her we were having dinner right? I'm not about to have a guest come in and not feed them!" Kagome laughed kindly. "I'm sorry, he told me he spoke to you about it and about what you might like to eat."

"I did," Inuyasha piped up.

Kikyou raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at Kagome and then turned to Inuyasha. "Oh, I thought you were asking if I minded that she would be cooking while we were here. Of course I don't mind if she cooks in her own _quaint_ apartment. But," she glanced down at the wine glass and sighed, "I already made us dinner reservations at a really nice restaurant in town."

Inuyasha looked from his love-interest to his roommate and back. The last thing he wanted was to upset either woman. "How about we cancel the reservations this time and stay here and eat? Kagome already went to the trouble to make dinner." Time seemed to creep by as his suggestion hung in the air. Kagome caught the tiniest twitch of a muscle in Kikyou's perfectly composed face before the woman's eyes misted with tears. Dropping her wineglass on the rug, she turned in to Inuyasha's chest. The look on his face told Kagome that he had never seen this side of Kikyou before. Tentatively, he reached up and stroked her shaking back.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" She tilted her head up to look into his baffled eyes. "I'm sure you'll think me rotten. After all, your _friend_," the word dripped with venom, "went to the trouble of making some sort of meager dinner that must have required so much effort for someone like her." Kikyou snaked one hand up his chest and placed the other on the side of his face. "It's just, this restaurant is really something special and you have to call months in advance to get a reservation. Did you know I called three months ago in the hope that by this time you would have noticed me?" She let out a soft whimper. "And now you have noticed me and I could just _die_ of happiness. I wouldn't mind canceling the reservations but if you ever cancel, you can never make reservations with them again." Inuyasha looked at her quizzically. A restaurant that would never let you eat there again if you had to cancel you reservation? Kikyou read his expression and let a lone tear fall down her cheek. "It's a very nice restaurant," she reiterated and, letting one last tear fall, she had him.

"Ok, ok." He stammered. "It seems like you went to a lot of trouble and I wouldn't want you to be banned from some place. Kags," he finally tore his eyes off of his date and looked at his incredulous roommate, "you don't mind, do you?" His eyes were pleading as Kikyou ran her fingers through his hair.

Kagome stood in shock at the incredible display of manipulation Kikyou had just put on. _Most people would have to pay serious money to see a performance that good. Lucky me, I got it for free. I can't tell what's the bigger mess, though: Kikyou or my carpet where she spilled her wine!_ Pulling herself from her thoughts, Kagome brought the corners of her lips up and found her voice. "That's fine. You guys go. Have fun."

Inuyasha shot her a grateful smile before looking back at the woman in his arms. "I guess I need to change really fast before going to a fancy restaurant, huh?" Kikyou sniffled and nodded at him as he worked on disentangling himself from her. "Ok, I'll be right back!" Suddenly, Kagome and Kikyou were left alone.

Kikyou drew herself up to her full height and glared at Kagome. All traces of her past tears were gone and her face was arranged into a look of pure disgust. Kagome almost gasped at the sudden shift. Kikyou walked towards Kagome until they were a hair's breadth apart, her hand flying up to grab the gentle girl's chin. "I'm only going to say this once." Kikyou's voice was low and sharp. "You disgust me with your happy-go-lucky attitude. You think you're something else, don't you? Well you're not. You are plain and ordinary. Your unexceptionality is the only thing exceptional about you. Your cooking smells horrendous, your apartment is ugly, and you are pathetic. Yes, you live with Inuyasha for now, but when I am through with him he will have completely forgotten who you even are. I suggest you stay away from him. If you already start distancing yourself from him, it will hurt far less when I wrench him from your grasp. We are not friends and we never will be. And if you ever look me in the eye again, I will make you regret it. Do not _ever_ think you are equal to me. Do I make myself clear?"

Kagome's head was pounding. Kikyou kept her fingers clenched tightly on Kagome's chin, her nails digging into the tender flesh, all through her hateful rant. Her touch sent wave after wave of ice water through Kagome.

"I said, do I make myself clear?" Kikyou tightened her grip on the woman before her.

Kagome's eyes were wide with shock, her voice lost somewhere in the back of her throat.

"Very well, if you won't answer me. I'll answer for you." And with that, Kikyou forcefully nodded Kagome's head up and down before relinquishing her hold.

At that moment, Inuyasha burst out of his room. "I haven't worn this suit in a while! I'm glad I have a chance to dust it off." Kikyou moved to his side and traced little patterns on his lapels. "You look so handsome in this," she purred before pulling his mouth to hers and kissing him.

Kagome turned from the couple and moved into the kitchen. She started putting plates away as small tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. _I will not give that woman the satisfaction of seeing me cry_. She repeated the mantra again and again to herself.

Inuyasha popped into the kitchen. "Bye Kags! Thanks for being so understanding, you're the best." He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her cheek before Kikyou's voice rang out, drawing him away from his friend. "Come on, Inuyasha! We'll be late if we don't leave now!"

"I'm coming! See you later Kags."

Not trusting her voice, Kagome opted for nodding.

Then the apartment was silent, leaving Kagome alone with nothing but her thoughts and her tears.


End file.
